I am a senior researcher at the Center for the Study of Conversion and Inter-Religious Encounters at Ben Gurion University in the Negev. I received my PhD from Tel Aviv University (1997), and am the author of "The Former Jews of this Kingdom: Sicilian Converts after the Expulsion (1492-1516)" (Leiden: Brill, 2003). In 2020 I published "Reading Jewish history in the renaissance: Christians, Jews, and the Hebrew Sefer Josippon" (Lexington books, 2020). My main areas of interest, on which I have published a number of articles, include the intercultural encounters in the Mediterranean world
Fernando Ciaramitaro’s Santo Oficio imperial, Dinámicas globales y el caso siciliano offers a com... more Fernando Ciaramitaro’s Santo Oficio imperial, Dinámicas globales y el caso siciliano offers a comprehensive approach to the study of the Spanish state Inquisition from its origins to the spread of that institution to all Spanish dominions in Europe, in the New World, and in Asia. Ciaramitaro’s choice to include the Sicilian branch of the Spanish Inquisition in his global perspective as a telling case-study sheds light on the dynamics of government from afar.
Christian reception of the Book of Yosippon in the Middle-Ages and Renaissance rested on the assu... more Christian reception of the Book of Yosippon in the Middle-Ages and Renaissance rested on the assumptions that it was authored by Josephus, that it could serve to confirm the historicity of Christianity, and that it could be used in religious polemics against the Jews. Yosippon’s account of the destruction of the Second Temple was considered proof that Christianity had superseded Judaism, demonstrating how divine punishment had been meted out to the Jews for rejecting Jesus. Christians were also interested in Yosippon for its opening chapter’s narrative, loosely based on Virgil’s Aeneid, depicting the fictitious biblical hero Zepho ben Eliphaz as the founder of Rome. Modern scholarship interprets this narrative as an attempt to create a Jewish historiography of the Roman Empire. For Jewish writers, the myth of Zepho serves to create founding myths that confirm and validate Jewish presence in Christian Europe by attributing the founding of cities and lands to this biblical figure. The article explores these facets of Yosippon’s reception in Christian circles.This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Paper examines the process of immigration of Jews and conversos from the Iberian kingdoms to Sici... more Paper examines the process of immigration of Jews and conversos from the Iberian kingdoms to Sicily, focusing on those of Catalan origins. The timeline encompasses a long period, from the 11th century to the expulsion of 1492 and beyond, while attempting to examine both integration and conflict between the newcomers and the local Jews.
... Mediterranean Historical Review Vol. ... In his book Historians and Historiography in the Ita... more ... Mediterranean Historical Review Vol. ... In his book Historians and Historiography in the Italian Renaissance, Eric Cochrane included the figures of Pietro Ranzano ... at the universities of Padua, Bologna, Siena, and Pavia and served the duke of Milan before joining Alfonso's court. ...
... NADIA ZELDES ... 10 tari and 15 grana when sold at auction.48 A shoemaker's shop in Sale... more ... NADIA ZELDES ... 10 tari and 15 grana when sold at auction.48 A shoemaker's shop in Salemi held several pieces of leather, three different knives, 18 pairs of furmi (forms), probably wooden models, and a cutting table.49 The shop of the Palermitan merchant Manfredo La Muta ...
The migration and resettlement of Jewish exiles after 1492 and the successive expulsions of the e... more The migration and resettlement of Jewish exiles after 1492 and the successive expulsions of the early sixteenth century was a long and drawn-out process. In fact, the majority of the exiles did not go directly to the Ottoman Empire, and even those who finally reached it as first-generation immigrants did so by staggered waves of migration. The Venetian colonies in the Mediterranean played an important role in this process, both as relatively safe destinations and as ports of transit on the way eastward. Nevertheless, Venetian attitudes towards the arrival of Sefardi, Sicilian, Apulian, and Portuguese Jews in the Stato da Mar have rarely been considered in this context, independently from the topic of Jewish presence in the colonies in general. Corfu offers the opportunity for a case study. The present article examines Venetian policies towards Jewish refugees, immigrants, and conversos who came to Corfu in the aftermath of the expulsions from the Iberian Peninsula and southern Italy. It also attempts to tackle some questions related to the chronology of the successive waves of Jewish settlement on the island in this period.
SOUL AND BODY DISEASES, REMEDIES AND HEALING IN MIDDLE EASTERN RELIGIOUS CULTURES AND TRADITIONS , 2023
The article examines R. Elijah Capsali's description of the plague that spread in Naples in 1493.... more The article examines R. Elijah Capsali's description of the plague that spread in Naples in 1493. Capsali's account, written around 1525, represents an effort to place Jewish history within the framework of general history. The description of the epidemic of 1493 is part of Capsali’s narrative on the expulsion from Spain and the fate of the exiles as they came to the Kingdom of Naples. Guided by humanistic standards, the author attempts to explain events and occurrences in terms of cause and effect, emphasizing the roles of the king, the court, and the populace in the conflict created by the outbreak. The article also sheds light on contemporary attitudes towards disease, containment, and contagion.
Fernando Ciaramitaro’s Santo Oficio imperial, Dinámicas globales y el caso siciliano offers a com... more Fernando Ciaramitaro’s Santo Oficio imperial, Dinámicas globales y el caso siciliano offers a comprehensive approach to the study of the Spanish state Inquisition from its origins to the spread of that institution to all Spanish dominions in Europe, in the New World, and in Asia. Ciaramitaro’s choice to include the Sicilian branch of the Spanish Inquisition in his global perspective as a telling case-study sheds light on the dynamics of government from afar.
Christian reception of the Book of Yosippon in the Middle-Ages and Renaissance rested on the assu... more Christian reception of the Book of Yosippon in the Middle-Ages and Renaissance rested on the assumptions that it was authored by Josephus, that it could serve to confirm the historicity of Christianity, and that it could be used in religious polemics against the Jews. Yosippon’s account of the destruction of the Second Temple was considered proof that Christianity had superseded Judaism, demonstrating how divine punishment had been meted out to the Jews for rejecting Jesus. Christians were also interested in Yosippon for its opening chapter’s narrative, loosely based on Virgil’s Aeneid, depicting the fictitious biblical hero Zepho ben Eliphaz as the founder of Rome. Modern scholarship interprets this narrative as an attempt to create a Jewish historiography of the Roman Empire. For Jewish writers, the myth of Zepho serves to create founding myths that confirm and validate Jewish presence in Christian Europe by attributing the founding of cities and lands to this biblical figure. The article explores these facets of Yosippon’s reception in Christian circles.This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Paper examines the process of immigration of Jews and conversos from the Iberian kingdoms to Sici... more Paper examines the process of immigration of Jews and conversos from the Iberian kingdoms to Sicily, focusing on those of Catalan origins. The timeline encompasses a long period, from the 11th century to the expulsion of 1492 and beyond, while attempting to examine both integration and conflict between the newcomers and the local Jews.
... Mediterranean Historical Review Vol. ... In his book Historians and Historiography in the Ita... more ... Mediterranean Historical Review Vol. ... In his book Historians and Historiography in the Italian Renaissance, Eric Cochrane included the figures of Pietro Ranzano ... at the universities of Padua, Bologna, Siena, and Pavia and served the duke of Milan before joining Alfonso's court. ...
... NADIA ZELDES ... 10 tari and 15 grana when sold at auction.48 A shoemaker's shop in Sale... more ... NADIA ZELDES ... 10 tari and 15 grana when sold at auction.48 A shoemaker's shop in Salemi held several pieces of leather, three different knives, 18 pairs of furmi (forms), probably wooden models, and a cutting table.49 The shop of the Palermitan merchant Manfredo La Muta ...
The migration and resettlement of Jewish exiles after 1492 and the successive expulsions of the e... more The migration and resettlement of Jewish exiles after 1492 and the successive expulsions of the early sixteenth century was a long and drawn-out process. In fact, the majority of the exiles did not go directly to the Ottoman Empire, and even those who finally reached it as first-generation immigrants did so by staggered waves of migration. The Venetian colonies in the Mediterranean played an important role in this process, both as relatively safe destinations and as ports of transit on the way eastward. Nevertheless, Venetian attitudes towards the arrival of Sefardi, Sicilian, Apulian, and Portuguese Jews in the Stato da Mar have rarely been considered in this context, independently from the topic of Jewish presence in the colonies in general. Corfu offers the opportunity for a case study. The present article examines Venetian policies towards Jewish refugees, immigrants, and conversos who came to Corfu in the aftermath of the expulsions from the Iberian Peninsula and southern Italy. It also attempts to tackle some questions related to the chronology of the successive waves of Jewish settlement on the island in this period.
SOUL AND BODY DISEASES, REMEDIES AND HEALING IN MIDDLE EASTERN RELIGIOUS CULTURES AND TRADITIONS , 2023
The article examines R. Elijah Capsali's description of the plague that spread in Naples in 1493.... more The article examines R. Elijah Capsali's description of the plague that spread in Naples in 1493. Capsali's account, written around 1525, represents an effort to place Jewish history within the framework of general history. The description of the epidemic of 1493 is part of Capsali’s narrative on the expulsion from Spain and the fate of the exiles as they came to the Kingdom of Naples. Guided by humanistic standards, the author attempts to explain events and occurrences in terms of cause and effect, emphasizing the roles of the king, the court, and the populace in the conflict created by the outbreak. The article also sheds light on contemporary attitudes towards disease, containment, and contagion.
Conference given at the Polis Institute, Jerusalem, 2018
Lucas Marinis or Lucio Marineo Sículo (1444-1533) a Sicilian humanist who held the chair pf Gramm... more Lucas Marinis or Lucio Marineo Sículo (1444-1533) a Sicilian humanist who held the chair pf Grammar at the university of Salamanca. He left an interesting biography written by Antonio Segura, one of his students. This brief compilation gives the story of his education from ignorance to mastery of Latin. His biography demonstrates some of intrinsic notions important to humanistic education in the Renaissance. His success in Spain sheds light on aspects of Spanish humanism. Marinis is the author of several chronicles and histories, among them Opus de rebus Hispaniae memorabilibus printed in 1530. His letters are an important source for his biography and relations with various figures of his times.
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